Thackeray, whose Shiv Sena party dug up the pitch at one of the
Test venues and was believed to be behind the ransacking on
Monday of the Indian cricket board's headquarters, said the
campaign to stop the tour was in full flow=2E

"Right now we won't disclose our plans but the truth is that
Pakistan won't be allowed to play," he said on the eve of the
tour which starts on Thursday.

Even as police carried out pre-emptive arrests of Shiv Sena
activists, a Hindu militant opposed to the tour set himself on
fire Wednesday in the southern city of Madras, where the first of
two Tests starts on January 28.

The man, an autorickshaw driver identified as Palani, doused
himself in petrol in the street and set himself ablaze. Onlookers
managed to put out the flames and Palani was rushed by police to
hospital.

Palani is a member of the right-wing Hindu Munnani Front, which
has backed the Shiv Sena campaign.

Thackeray, a political ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee, said a senior party official had been
despatched to Madras to "make an assessment about the
arrangements to prevent the match."

He also deounced Vajpayee for criticising his campaign.

"I do not know what has happened to the Vajpayee government," he
said, rejecting official comments that sporting links would
improve relations between the arch-rivals as "utter nonsense".

"What kind of relationship does (Vajpayee) want to improve with
Pakistan?" Thackeray said.

The Shiv Sena wants the tour cancelled because of Pakistan's
support for Moslem separatists in Kashmir.

The Pakistanis, who last played a Test in India in March 1987,
will step off the plane into an unprecedented security blanket
that will remain firmly wrapped around them until they fly home
in April.

The players will be guarded around-the-clock by commandos, while
bomb-disposal squads and paramilitary security forces will be on
standby at all the match venues.

The Shiv Sena has vowed to mobilise some 25,000 supporters during
the tour, and claims to have formed a 50-member suicide squad who
will set themselves alight in front of the prime minister's house
on the opening day of the first Test.

Party leaders have also threatened to "target" Indian cricketers,
triggering calls for the tour to be cancelled.

"It is not just the players' safety that is in question now but
also that of the common man," said Krishnaswamy Kumble, father of
Indian international Anil Kumble.

The Indian players were set to fly back to Bombay Thursday from
New Zealand, but officals said their flight would be re-routed to
an undisclosed destination.

Police protection has been guaranteed for the Indian team,
especially stars like Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar.

"We are not taking any chances," Delhi police chief V.N. Singh
said.

Delhi is scheduled to host the second Test at the heavily-guarded
Ferozeshah Kotla ground where the Shiv Sena dug up the pitch
earlier this month.

But the police assurances, coupled with personal pledges from the
Indian government, have not convinced everyone.

"This is not the right time to play Test cricket," said former
Test cricketer Dilip Sardesai.

"I am worried about the lives of Indian players, especially those
like Tendulkar and Azharuddin who live in Bombay. It requires one
madman to undo what the security forces have promised."

Pakistan are also due to play the opening Asian Test championship
match against the hosts at Calcutta and a triangular one-day
series also featuring Sri Lanka.

Pakistani captain Wasim Akram could not hide his lingering fears.

"I have told the boys to forget all that happened and just
concentrate on the game but it will be difficult," he said. "I
can't say what is in store for us in India but let's hope all
would end well."